Lesser of Two Evils
by miguelisasir
Summary: Haunted by visions that the Ancient Walkers have granted him, Locke sets out to prepare his future son for the impending doom he must face. But a hefty price must be paid to ensure the safety of your son, your sanity, and quite possibly, the entire universe.
1. Chapter 1: Only A Dream

Complete carnage.

Those two words were but a gross understatement. Those two words could not even describe a portion of what lay before him.

Once tall, proud skyscrapers reduced to a pile of concrete, glass and steel. The streets cracked, broken and littered with debris. Even the sky, once so brilliant and blue, was now dark and desolate, so grey it was almost black, with a toxic red tinge.

And it wasn't just the echidna's sight that was being overwhelmed. All five senses were working overtime, attempting to drink in all that was before him. His hearing, pounded on relentlessly by cries; of fear, of pain, of death. His skin, pushed to its limit by the excruciating heat from the raging inferno engulfing almost everything. His sense of smell and taste were being overwhelmed too. His nose so overloaded with the smells of destruction, despair and death, he could practically _taste_ the smoke, soot and blood on his tongue.

Tremors, further adding to the hellish madness, knocked the echidna off-balance. Regaining his footing, he gazed upon a behemoth that towered almost up to the ominous clouds, still hammering missiles upon the city's surface, hell-bent on complete destruction, as if its sole purpose was to send a downpour of death to all within its reach.

And standing in between the echidna and the giant was another, younger echidna.

Recognizing the younger echidna, the elder called him out, but to no avail, for it was as if his voice was lost amongst the armageddon that surrounded them.

Even with the behemoth towering above him, the younger echidna positioned himself into a fighting stance.

The colossus, somehow noticing the comparatively miniscule echidna that foolishly tried to challenge it, began to draw back a gigantic metal fist. Surely, even a tap on the head from a fist that size would induce a major concussion and severe brain damage. However, mechs, particularly enormous, battle-ready weapons of war, unfortunately have no concept of holding back.

Desperately trying to reach the younger echidna, the elder one had tried to run, but with so much debris in his way, he could only manage a frustrating half-jog as he avoided cracks, pieces of buildings and the occasional dead body, in an effort to reach the younger one.

_No! Not my son_, he pleaded.

But his efforts were in vain, for the titan's hand, heavy though it may be, had started coming down at an alarming rate, faster than what the older echidna could hope the younger one would be able to avoid.

All he could do was scream, and then, a flash of brilliant white light.

"_**NOOOOOOO!**_"

Sudden darkness engulfed his vision, though the image of the younger echidna-his _son_-looking back and smiling at him just as he had cried out, was still burned into his eyes.

"Locke, honey, what's wrong?" asked an apprehensive female voice beside him.

It was then that the echidna named Locke realized that he was sitting bolt upright in his bed, having woken up both him and his wife, Lara-Le from their slumber.

Lara-Le turned on the lamp on her nightstand, gazing at her husband's terrified face with worry.

"Only a dream, Lara," he began, sweating and panting profusely, "yet more than a dream."

Lara-Le knew what he was referring to, for it had been the same dream he had dreamt and woken both of them up with several times for the past few months.

So, without saying anything more, she embraced the love of her life tightly, praying to *Aurora for some sort of relief to Locke's anguish.

* * *

**A/N: I own neither hide nor hair nor circuit nor shard of any of the Mobians/robotic mechs/objects of power mentioned in the above story. SEGA and/or Archie Comics do.**

** *Aurora is one of the apparently numerous celestial beings/deities that exist in the Archie multi-verse, basically existing on the same plane as the Ancient Walkers. She is often portrayed as a pink echidna (she actually used to be a Chaos energy research scientist in Albion, until she and her then-romantic partner Enerjak became servants of the Ancient Walkers, allowing them both to ascend into the Chaos Force and essentially become gods), though she apparently can appear to others as they imagine her to be, no matter the species. Most prominently in the comics, she is portrayed as the deity that most, if not all non-Dark Legion echidnas worship. Places of worship dedicated to her are called "Aurorariums." She would later succeed the Ancient Walkers, along with Athair (Locke's grandfather who also had close ties to the three beings), and Merlin Prower (Tails' uncle who practices magic, having once been the Wizard of the Acorn Kingdom), becoming the Neo Walkers.**


	2. Chapter 2: Fight The Future

Though the foliage was dense and the footing treacherous, Locke had no problems whatsoever in navigating through the jungle on the north-east side of Angel Island.

For him, the path was almost second-nature, having been a route often travelled upon, not just by Locke, but a certain other echidna whom the Guardian knew would be at the end of it.

Finally, after jumping over a pit of quicksand, he arrived at his destination.

Before him lay a circular clearing, and on the opposite side of it, the trees stood at quite a distance from one another, providing a stark contrast to the dense jungle behind him. As well, the ground fell completely away at the point opposite Locke; it was the north-eastern edge of the Island.

The space in between the two closest trees would have provided a complete view of the blue sky and occasional clouds that surrounded Angel Island, had there not been an ancient echidna seated there, cross-legged and meditating.

The younger echidna inched towards the elder quietly, not wanting to disturb him. But, before Locke could reach him, he spoke first.

"I take it you have finally realized the legitimacy of your 'dreams?'" he said in a strong voice that was unexpectedly assertive and clear for his age.

"No," the Guardian began nervously, but in an unwavering voice, he continued, "I came to ask for advice...Grandfather Athair."

Locke was not surprised that Athair knew of the dreams that the Ancient Walkers had seemingly sent him, as Athair himself had close ties to the three celestial beings.

Athair then stood up from his seated position, with the same swift agility as a much younger echidna-again, unexpectedly so at his age. In fact, the only thing that really belied his years was his once-brilliant-but-now-dulled maroon fur.

"What you witnessed is the future, Locke," he began, cutting straight to the point, though his gaze was not to his grandson, but to the currently dormant volcano in the middle of the Island.

Locke's heart sank and his stomach churned at the confirmation of his worst nightmare eventually coming true, yet Athair continued unflinchingly, "a future that may yet contain a shred of hope, if you _prepare _for it."

The younger echidna's heart rate sped up, both in trepidation and excitement at his grandfather's words. Careful not to throw caution and doubt to the wind, he presses Athair further, "And how am I to go about this task, grandfather?"

Finally glancing at the younger echidna, Athair replies, "I cannot tell you much, but I can tell you this: Reconcile the past with the present into the next generation."

At first, Locke was at a loss for words, as his mind processed what Athair had advised him to do. Suddenly, with wide eyes, Locke came to a realization.

"A-are you telling me to...**_to genetically alter my son_**?" Locke asked, incredulous. He could not even fathom that Athair, of all people, would even suggest bringing up a method that was not only extremely difficult, but also strictly forbidden.

"As it stands right now, not even _you_ could provide enough training for your son to defend both himself _and_ the world around us from the impending doom," Athair stated gravely, "and none of the world's greatest heroes so far would be a match for the evil that will eventually come."

"But at what cost to him?" Locke struggled to keep himself from yelling, but his voice steadily rose, "What price must he-and his family-pay to ensure the safety of the universe? Can't the Brotherhood do anything?"

"If we could do anything, the Ancient Walkers would have warned the rest of us, and not just you," Athair replied, a little coldly. Seeing his grandson's desperation however, the elder echidna's scowling face softened as he sighed and said, "I had asked the exact same questions when I discussed the matter with the Walkers," Athair placed a hand on his grandson's shoulder, "but, I realized that, to defend an entire universe, we must do what we have to, no matter how much we dislike the means and the methods to do so."

Athair then hardened his face once more as he sat back down again, beginning to meditate further, which was the cue for Locke that their meeting was at an end.

However, even without the non-verbal signal, the Guardian turned away, his face hardening as well, as he steeled himself for what he had to do.

"Though the Brotherhood cannot fight the future," the elder echidna began, which startled the unsuspecting Locke slightly, "you can create its savior."

Locke said nothing, but silently thanked his grandfather, who was now in a trance-like state, and, after giving him the *Guardian's Salute, turned away, back to the dense jungle where he once walked, uncertain and afraid. Walking through it now, the fear may not have diminished much, but his determination was doubled.

* * *

**A/N: I own neither hide nor hair nor circuit nor shard of any of the Mobians/robotic mechs/objects of power mentioned in the above story. SEGA and/or Archie Comics do.**

***The Guardian's Salute is something completely non-canonical to anything, so I guess I own _that._ As for what it is, it's basically the act of flexing the knuckles of your right hand by wrapping your left hand around it, and bowing your head so that your lips touch the left index finger knuckle. As the name implies, it is used to respectfully greet, acknowledge, give thanks and say farewell to the current Guardian, as well as the members of the Brotherhood all up in Haven.**


	3. Chapter 3: For A Reason

The debate had been going on for days on end, or so it seemed to Locke. The Guardian wished for nothing more than to resume his experiments, for though it may not bear any great rewards in the long run, it would be better than merely sitting and arguing. However, Locke shook himself awake and tuned back in to the conversation at hand.

"...long-forbidden technologies, such as his experiments with biological enhancements, are forbidden for a _reason_," came Tobor, who surprisingly seemed to be the main opposition in the debate, but for what reason, no one was really sure. Locke had to suppress every urge to knock him out cold.

"I concur. Father Tobor does have a point," came the deep and rather intimidating voice of Spectre. Locke was not surprised in the least of Spectre's views, as the topic of technology and biological manipulations in particular was a touchy subject with him.

"But," came Sabre's voice, "times are changing, Grandfather Tobor, and as important as traditions are, I believe that there comes a time when tradition must be broken. And let us bear in mind, Haven is not exactly indicative of our naturalistic customs."

Locke internally beamed with hope. There was something about your father agreeing and sharing radical views with you that made everything less of a nightmare.

"Yes, but the time for tradition to break depends on whether or not it is for the greater good," snapped the elderly Hawking, who up until that point had not spoken much.

Locke finally broke his silence.

"And thinking of the safety of my son _and_ the universe isn't for the greater good, then?" the Guardian snapped back.

"My dear boy," Sojourner replied, unfazed by Locke's outburst, "thinking of the welfare of your future son is all well and good, but aren't your methods a little overkill?"

"Not if you've seen what I've seen, Grandfather Sojourner," the younger echidna replied, his expression darkening.

"_Oh?_" Tobor retaliated, his voice dripping with sarcastic skepticism, "Then _please_, tell us all about what you've seen."

"Only the horror of seeing your own son _obliterated_ right in front of your eyes," Locke growled, "If only you could've seen him; such bravery and strength, in the face of so unspeakable and terrifying an adversary," he began chuckling darkly, "How I would pointlessly bellow his name in a vain attempt to save him.

"The Ancient Walkers have granted me this vision, or so I've been told by Grandfather Athair," Locke did not need to turn to know that his father's expression had darkened at the mention of Athair's name, but he continued anyway, "for it seems that that scenario can be prevented, but only if we take action _now_."

"And Sabre agrees to that, though it comes from such an-ah-_difficult_ source?" Tobor retorted, still woefully disbelieving; he was really beginning to grate on Locke's nerves.

"I agree...with Locke," came Sabre, "and by extension my father, and the Ancient Walkers. For though we have our differences, Father Athair is a wise echidna, and has a good, personal rapport with the Walkers. Remember that they _do_ exist on the same plane as the great Aurora, Grandfather Tobor, and for good reason."

Tobor remained silent after that, as did the rest of the Brotherhood, who were letting Sabre's words sink in slowly.

Finally, Hawking broke the silence, "All those in favor of letting Locke resume his practices, maybe this time with a little bit of help," he flashed a grin at the younger echidna, "say 'aye.'"

The entire Brotherhood-even Tobor-in one unanimous, unwavering voice, uttered an "aye."

* * *

**A/N: I own neither hide nor hair nor circuit nor shard of any of the Mobians/robotic mechs/objects of power mentioned in the above story. SEGA and/or Archie Comics do.**


End file.
